John Lennon Message from the Great Beyond?

Now, this is one of the strangest things I have heard in a long time. While I am skeptical about all things supernatural, it strikes me as imprudent to dismiss alleged out-of-this-world occurrences out of hand. Sure, there are lots of kooks and gullible souls – and charlatans too – but more is happening in the cosmos than humankind will ever completely understand.

The Evening Standard‘s This Is London reports that psychics claim John Lennon, the activist and musician assassinated in 1980, sent the world a message from…well, from wherever he is right now. The message reportedly was broadcast via a worldwide pay-per-view seance produced by UK firm Starcast Productions and shown on US television last night. And what did the former Beatle have to say?

“Peace…the message is peace.”

The 90-minute show, which cost $9.95 (£5.60) to watch, was broadcast on American TV last night.

The makers of “The Spirit of John Lennon” said a voice recorded at the La Fortuna restaurant in New York, which the star used to frequent, appeared to be that of the murdered musician, speaking via the paranormal “Electronic Voice Phenomenon.”

British psychic Joe Power, who was conducting the seance, said: “I have no doubt in my mind that we were able to make contact with the spirit of John Lennon.”

Many are unimpressed. According to TIL, many Beatles and Lennon fans are outraged by what they see as a disrespectful stunt. Elliot Mintz, a friend of Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono, called the televised seance “tacky” and “exploitative.”

And yes, the critics could be bloody well right. The adjective “greedy” might be correctly applied in this case too. In fact, that was the first word of my initial reaction to the news. The noun the adjective modified was “bastards.”

But imagine: Wouldn’t it be just like a restless Lennon to urge still-living peaceniks onward even from beyond our mortal coil? And shouldn’t those of us struggling to rid the world of war welcome pro-peace messages, whatever their source? Especially if said source is a respected one. Even if said source happens to be, well, on the wrong side of the grass.

I recommend we take Lennon’s reputed advice and push for peace – just in case. Cheap media stunt or not, the message is a necessary one. And if what the psychics claim is true, it means that the job of activism doesn’t end at death. If even the dearly departed are waving the banner for peace, we living do-gooders have no excuse to be idle.